Evaluation Resources for Assessing HIT Systems and HIT Implementation, Adoption and Use

With the large investments required for health IT projects, stakeholders are increasingly demanding to know what the actual value of these projects has been, or will be. Evaluations allow us to determine whether or not what one has set out to accomplish has been accomplished, and to help us to understand what has worked in a given project and what has not. Lessons that emerge from evaluations help to guide both your team, as well as others, in their approach to projects in the future. Evaluations must therefore be an integral part of any health IT project. (AHRQ Health IT Evaluation Toolkit)
The diversity and complexity of health IT projects poses challenges for those seeking to evaluate particular projects and those interested in assessing broader population impact. While support for such evaluations can be found in ongoing health service research projects (explore the database Health Services Research Projects in Progress, as well in the proliferation of Toolkits from diverse public and non-profit sources (see below), there is also an increasing literature assessing evaluation techniques and approaches appropriate for health IT interventions, particularly those related to implementation of the requirements for "Meaningful Use." This literature can be found using PubMed search strategies, such as those at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/healthit/meaningful_use.html.

JavaScript has been disabled on your browser.
Please enable JavaScript to use the Search feature.
For assistance in retrieving data from this page,
contact
nichsr@nlm.nih.gov

Evaluating, Optimizing, and Sustaining
- (Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA))
- This resource, from the Health IT Implementation Toolbox, is designed for health centers and safety net and ambulatory care providers who are seeking to implement health IT.

Health IT Literacy Guide
- (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))
- This guide provides strategies, and other resources for the development of technical standards and aspects of accessible health IT design,

Health IT Patient Satisfaction Survey
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- This survey tool is intended to aid providers and health IT implementers assess the impact of health information technology adoption to inform quality improvement initiatives. The results will provide an understanding of how patients are responding to EHR use in the office.

Health IT Survey Compendium
- (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))
- This database is a resource of health IT surveys that may be used in the evaluation of health IT projects.

The HIMSS Health IT Value Suite
- (Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) USA)
- This is a growing database of use studies, related to health-IT.

How to Implement EHRs
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- This is a step-by-step overview of the tasks necessary to implement an EHR system.

ONC HIT Curriculum Overview
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- Registration is required to utilize this free curriculum. Included in the course are Working with Health IT Systems, Configuring Electronic Health Records, and Planning, Management and Leadership for Health IT.

Rural Health IT Adoption Toolbox
- (Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA))
- Developed for rural health providers, this toolbox is designed to improve effectiveness of the HIT implementation process.

The State HIE Program Four Years Later: Key Findings on Grantees' Experiences from a Six-State Review (2014)
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- This Case Study Report presents the results of a NORC series of case studies, which identified key enablers, challenges, and lessons learned from the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program. The report presents the results of a survey and site visit of the implementation experiences in six states (Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming).

Tips for Going Live with a Health IT System
- (Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA))
- The video from this October 21, 2011 webinar on providers' experiences with initiating health IT systems is provided.

Webinars

Access to Capital - Rural Hospital
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- To prepare rural hospital for the questions they will face when applying for a loan, this webinar explains the evaluation process commercial banks use to make a decision on a loan.

AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology
- (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))
- AHRQ initiative containing information on programs that promote the use of health information technology. Central repository for research findings from projects developing, testing, and using health IT applications.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- HRSA works to improve and extend life for people living with HIV/AIDS, provide primary health care to medically underserved people, serve women and children through state programs, and train a health workforce that is both diverse and motivated to work in underserved communities.

HealthIT.gov
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- Resource to support the adoption of health information technology and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange to improve health care.

IHE USA
- IHE USA is a part of the international group, and focuses on fostering consistent information standards.

Regional Extension Centers (RECs)
- (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS (ONC))
- Information is provided on the ONC's Regional Extension Centers, which serve as a support and resource centers to assist providers in EHR implementation and HealthIT needs